The Ultimate Gifts for Van Life
Despite the fact that vanlife is a minimalist lifestyle, a lot of the items we use can be spendy. If you’re building a van or traveling in one, something that you want for Christmas is probably on this list. These products are not exclusive to people living on the road. But they are made for everyone who is traveling, adventuring, and enjoying themselves outdoors.
We do our best to recommend items that we personally own or would purchase ourselves. Also, we hope that our suggestions give you some great ideas for the people on your shopping list this holiday season! Good luck finding the ultimate gifts for van life!
Gifts Under $250
Finding an epic camp site for a few days is what it’s all about. The Sunset Chair from Helinox is super comfortable and compact, which makes it a perfect camp accessory.
This is one of our Top 10 Vanlife Accessories and is available on Amazon.
Taking a break in nature means you have more time to relax and enjoy it. A Travel Guitar like this one on Amazon is perfect for traveling. Also, it is smaller than a regular guitar, but still sounds good enough for songs around the campfire, making it one of the best gifts for van life.
Similar to a Travel Guitar, a Ukulele is a great instrument for travelers and is fun to learn to play. There are a lot of great kits available on Amazon here that come with all of the accessories you need to get started.
Cooking on the fire is great, but when you want the cook the ultimate camp meal, you need a camping stove. And this Camp Chef Camping Stove is sturdy, reliable, and should last forever.
Nothing beats taking a hot shower after a big adventure. A tank-less and portable hot water heater is the perfect way to setup your own outdoor shower wherever you go. Another item from our Top 10 Vanlife Accessories list, it’s available on Amazon here. There are also great options that can be built into your van, like this one on Amazon.
Many hours on the road means many hours to listen to audio books. An Audible Subscription is a great gift for the traveler on your shopping list. Buy it on Amazon here.
Being mobile means that you need something to charge all of your electronics. The Jackery Portable Power Station is one of our Top 10 Favorite Accessories because we can charge our phones, laptops and camera batteries without issue on the road.
Planet Fitness, 24-Hour Fitness, and Anytime Fitness are just a few nation-wide chains that are great stops for any traveler. Not only can one freshen up with a hot shower, but nomads can also get in some cross-training.
You can give the gift of Amazon Prime. An annual membership gives you tons of free perks like free two-day shipping, access to tons of free ebook, music and videos. You can start a free 30-day trial here.
If they already have Amazon Prime, you can upgrade their membership to include Amazon Music Unlimited. It gives you the ability to download music and take it anywhere. Even out in the back country where there’s no people, and no cell phone service for streaming.
This is the ultimate gift for van life.
The DJI Osmo Mobile Gimbal will help the adventurer on your holiday shopping list document their travels. They’re great for anyone who wants to use their smartphone to take better video and capture those epic moments. You can shop for it on Amazon here.
A portable speaker that’s waterproof, dustproof, and ready for anything you throw at it makes the perfect gift for the outdoorsy person in your life. Check out the Denon Envaya Portable Bluetooth Speaker on Amazon.
Gifts Under $500
Traveling where the road takes you means you might end up with poor cell reception. The weBoost Cell Phone Signal Booster will help bring your service up a few notches. Ideal for travelers who need to stay connected, even in areas with poor signal. Sold on Amazon here.
A small and portable camera like the DJI Action Camera or the GoPro Hero 7 is a great gift for every traveler. Small enough to fit in a backpack, it can be carried everywhere and it takes great video too. Check out action cameras on Amazon.
The Garmin inREACH Mini GPS is the perfect gift for someone with serious wanderlust. With features like dropping pins and texting loved ones, you can help keep your adventurer safe with this awesome little gadget. Read more about it on Amazon.
No one likes to get stuck, especially those who have places to be. Give the gift of Tred Pro Recovery Tracks this season. Also, you’ll help ensure that the off-roader on your shopping list has the equipment they need to get out of any sticky situations.
There are moments where every traveler needs to top off their tire pressure. It’s an essential accessory for every van lifer, but is expensive so most people don’t have them. Treat the van lifer on your list with a gift that gives them a sense of security and safety with the ARB High Performance Portable Air Compressor, found on Amazon.
If you want to be off the grid and sustain travel life long term, you should install a solar system. Thankfully, the 
Renogy 200W Solar Kit has all of the essential components you need to setup a solar system on an RV, Skoolie, Van, etc. Read more about it on Amazon here.
Gift Under $1000
Most vehicles come with tires that don’t make the grade off the pavement. Changing out the stock tires for a more beefy all-terrain tire will help the adventurer on your list get to those hard-to-reach off-road locations. There are several to choose from that are great quality like the BF Goodrich KO2 tires or the Falken AT3 tires. Shop around on Amazon and find the right size for any rig.
Another off-grid energy solution is the Goal Zero Lithium Portable Power Station. It’s big enough for all of your power needs and can be recharged with an accessory solar panel from Goal Zero. Shop all of your Goal Zero gifts on Amazon.
Dealing with a cooler over the long term is the pits. If you have someone on your shopping list that is a full-time nomad, a Dometic Refrigerator and Freezer is an essential appliance.
If you need more juice that the Renogy 200W Solar Kit that was recommended above, you can upgrade to the Renogy 400W Solar Kit with Charge Controller. This kit has all of the components you need to be fully off-grid and powered up. Shop around on Amazon here.
Travel Insurance can be the difference between traveling confidently or not. Give the gift of safety this season by purchasing a policy for the traveler on your list. Read more about World Nomad Travel Insurance and get a quote on our web page here.
Gifts for Van Life can be hard to find and we hope that we’ve given you some great ideas to start your holiday shopping.
We always try to give our readers our honest and genuine recommendations for products we either own personally or are interested in buying. In addition, if you have any questions about the products we’ve suggested, please let us know in the comments section below!
Happy holidays!
Some great gift ideas for van life, and for many other applications. Anyone that travels in a van, RV, truck, or a car for that matter will find these gifts to be useful and timely. With the nice selection, there is something for everyone. I will have to bookmark this post for future buying considerations. Thanks for putting this together. Tom
Hi Tom! Thanks for reading along. You’re right, anyone traveling and enjoying the outdoors would appreciate these gift ideas. Happy Holidays!
Jess & Greg
WOW!
These are great ideas. I love to go on camping like this in a van. With someone special it will be even more fun. What’s interesting is that the items you can buy to take with you without spending a lot of money.
It’s true, many of the items in our gift guides are not as expensive as you’d think. And a lot of these items are perfect for anyone traveling, not just van lifters! Happy Holidays!
Jess & Greg
Thank you for some great ideas for van life.
My girlfriend and I have been seriously thinking about becoming van-lifers and your article has been very helpful in deciding some of the things we will need to feel more secure when we are on the road.
I am sure I will be visiting your site again for more ideas from experienced van-lifers like yourselves…. keep up the good work!
That’s awesome! It’s always great to meet aspiring vanlifers! We love living in a van and are happy to share our experience with others. Happy travels and thanks for reading along!
Jess & Greg
I am not a van lifer but have thought about getting a caravan. Seeing all the wonderful things you can do these days makes me want to pack my trunks and go on a month’s hike anywhere. Some really inspiring ideas here. Thanks.
That sounds like a great idea! We have really enjoyed vanlife and love sharing it with others. It’s such a relaxing lifestyle, we recommend everyone trying it for at least a little bit. Thanks for reading along!
Jess & Greg